Water: appearance before the Standing Committee (December 2, 2020)
Canada Water Agency
Q. What role will the Canada Water Agency play in addressing problems related to water quality and water quantity in Canada?
The mandate letter received from the Prime Minister directs the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change to work with the support of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to create a new Canada Water Agency, to work together with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, local authorities, scientists and others to find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well-managed. The specific role of the Canada Water Agency has not yet been defined. It will be the subject of engagement with Indigenous peoples, provincial and territorial governments, stakeholders, the public, and others over the coming months.
Q. In the Speech from the Throne, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation was referenced as a former important tool in managing water and that the Canada Water Agency is being formed to keep Canada’s water well managed. What is the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation and why was it abolished?
The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was a former branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada with a focus on providing assistance to the agricultural sector and to rural communities of the Canadian Prairies in managing soil and water resources in a sustainable manner while fostering economic growth.
In the early 2000s, PFRA was first transitioned to the Agri-Environmental Services Branch to provide national services and later into the Science and Technology Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, then as part of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan, AAFC refocused its efforts on science and technology, which lead to the transfer of certain responsibilities to other partners and the elimination of a number of services that were provided by the former PFRA.
The work formerly carried out by PFRA in relation to providing on the ground support to farmers in relation to sustainable freshwater management on farms, including knowledge transfer and funding support, has been referenced by some stakeholders as a potential role for a Canada Water Agency.
Currently no decisions have been made concerning the role or structure of the Canada Water Agency.
Q. Western Economic Diversification (WED) released a report in August 2020 on Prairie water and land management. What was this report about and what will it be used for?
Through Budget 2019, the Government of Canada invested $1 million to work with partners and stakeholders in examining sustainable water management in the context of climate change and identifying opportunities that would enhance food security and strengthen economic growth. This work was led by WED.
On August 31 WED released the report “Prairie Prosperity: A Vision for the Management of Water across Saskatchewan and the Prairies” which recommends developing the infrastructure needed to expand irrigation in central Saskatchewan through projects that align with Saskatchewan’s priorities related to expanding agricultural production.
The report indicates that the economic development potential of this irrigation infrastructure is significant, and will help to mitigate the impact of climate change while also providing an opportunity for Canada to be a leader in agri-food production and processing.
Both WED and the Canada Infrastructure Bank continue to be engaged in working with Saskatchewan and other provinces to explore opportunities for investing in irrigation infrastructure in Prairie Canada.
Some stakeholders have suggested that provision of freshwater science and engineering expertise needed to develop and assess future major water infrastructure initiatives of this type could be a role for a Canada Water Agency.
Currently no decisions have been made concerning the role or structure of the Canada Water Agency.
Protections for the Great Lakes
Q. What is the federal government doing to protect the Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe?
The Government of Canada is tackling the most pressing challenges affecting the Great Lakes through the Great Lakes Protection Initiative.
Through this Initiative, the Government of Canada is implementing its commitments under the Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
The mandate letter received from the Prime Minister directs the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change to develop further protections and take active steps to clean up large lakes, including the Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe.
The Great Lakes and Lake Simcoe are being considered in association with federal efforts to create a new Canada Water Agency.
Water Quality Monitoring
Who is responsible for water quality monitoring in Canada?
The protection and stewardship of water is a joint federal provincial/territorial responsibility.
The Government of Canada works in partnership with the provinces and territories to protect our freshwater resources for present and future generations through collaborations such as coordinating water sampling efforts, as well as sharing knowledge, information and data on water quality, which we have done for decades.
When did the Government stop water quality monitoring activities and when will activities resume?
In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) enacted its Business Continuity Plan in an effort to prioritize the health and safety of the Department’s workforce.
This meant a focus on critical services such as meteorological forecasting and response to environmental emergencies. Consequently, some field and laboratory work related to non-critical services were temporarily suspended including routine freshwater quality monitoring.
The resumption of ECCC field and laboratory activities is complex and requires diligent planning to ensure the health and safety of staff and the communities in which we operate are protected.
Following the development of Government of Canada’s guidelines to assist federal agencies in resuming field and laboratory activities in a safe manner, ECCC has completed sufficient planning and work, including the acquisition of Personal Protective Equipment and staff training, such that field and laboratory activities for water quality monitoring have resumed. The resumption is gradual and based on, and reactive to, local and regional COVID-19 epidemiology.
What is the impact of the suspension on the Government’s water quality monitoring activities?
The Government of Canada works closely with provinces and territories with respect to water quality monitoring. By leveraging these partnerships, the Government of Canada has continued to update agreements with provincial and territorial partners to minimize the impact of the temporary suspension of field and laboratory activities.
In light of local and regional COVID-19 epidemiology and the readiness of provincial and territorial partners, the Government of Canada has increased funding transfers through agreements to allow ongoing sampling where possible and the use of private laboratories where appropriate. This minimizes overall impact, while ECCC field and laboratory activities resume in a way that respects local and regional public health guidance.
The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with the provinces and territories and in consideration of guidance from local and regional health authorities in order to expand the resumption of field and laboratory activities to collect water quality data across Canada.
Wastewater
Q. What is the federal government doing to control the amount of industrial wastewater in Canadian waters?
The pollution prevention provisions in the Fisheries Act are some of the federal government’s strongest tools for reducing pollution to water.
The Fisheries Act prohibits the deposit of deleterious substances to water frequented by fish unless there are regulations that put in place controls on those releases.
The federal government manages these responsibilities both by developing regulations that set mandatory national effluent quality standards for any releases to water and by applying this prohibition where there are no regulations.
The federal government has put in place regulations for several sectors including metal and diamond mining as well as the pulp and paper sectors
effluent regulations are also being developed for both the coal mining and oil sands mining sectors.
Q. What is the federal government doing to address the amount of untreated or undertreated wastewater effluent released in the environment?
Approximately 75% of effluent released in Canada is treated to a minimum level of secondary treatment. To address releases of undertreated effluent the Government of Canada:
has put in place the Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations, with effluent quality standards which came into effect in 2015. The standards are achievable through secondary treatment. This level of treatment allows the removal of up to 95% of conventional pollutants and up to 90% of other contaminants.
has made significant investments in infrastructure. Since 2015, the Government of Canada has contributed $1.6 billion to more than 1,400 wastewater projects in Canada to support cleaner water for communities.
Some communities needed to conduct major construction or upgrades to their existing infrastructure to meet these limits. These major infrastructure projects take significant time to plan, finance, and build. Given this, the Regulations allowed for extensions beyond 2015 (transitional authorization) to comply with the limits.
Communities had until June 2014 to apply for this extension, which could be issued for the end of 2020, 2030, or 2040. These timelines considered effluent quality and quantity and the receiving environment. Higher risk systems were given a shorter period of time to comply.
More than one hundred mostly smaller, lower risk communities did not apply for transitional authorizations even though they would likely have been eligible.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is proposing to amend the Regulations so that these communities have another opportunity to apply. The proposed changes to the Regulations will not lower requirements; they simply provide another opportunity for wastewater system owners to receive a transitional authorization for the same extended timeline as originally intended in the Regulations.
Communities also need to maintain, repair and upgrade their sewer systems, which can also sometimes result in unavoidable releases of undertreated wastewater from overflow points. The regulations currently do not address this issue.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is proposing to amend the Regulations to establish clear conditions for these planned releases, taking into account environmental protection goals to reduce volume, frequency, and duration in order to minimize any potential impacts of releases.